Inspiring vegetarian recipes
Try our vibrant veggie dishes, from meat-free lasagne to vegetable curry and vegetarian chilli
Coffee cake with pecan brittle
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + cooling
- Easy
- Serves 10
Ingredients
- 225g (at room temperature) butter, plus a little more for the tins
- 225g light muscovado sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp mixed to a paste with 2 tbsp milk coffee granules
- 175g plain flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 150g pecan halves, 8 kept for decoration, and the rest chopped
ICING
- 150g white granulated sugar
- 250g butter, softened
- 500g icing sugar
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line and butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins. Beat the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one by one, with the coffee paste and 1 tbsp of the flour. Fold in the remaining flour, the baking powder and the chopped pecans.
- STEP 2
Divide the mixture between the tins, level the tops and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they are risen and feel springy when pressed lightly. Cool slightly, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave cool completely.
- STEP 3
To make the brittle, tip the sugar into a frying pan in an even layer. Add 2 tbsp of water and heat until the sugar has melted. Keep cooking until you have an evenly coloured golden caramel. Add the whole pecans, then tip the lot onto a baking sheet set on a wooden board. Cool, then snap the pecans out of the surrounding brittle.
- STEP 4
Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy, adding a tiny splash of water if you need to loosen it. Crush the brittle to a coarse powder by rolling it with a rolling pin, then beat it into the icing. Sandwich the cakes together with some icing, and cover the cake with the rest. Decorate the top with the glazed pecans.
